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20 Smart Ways To Use Your Kombucha SCOBYs!
So, you all keep asking . . . What do I do with all these SCOBYs?! If you are anything like me, you have a pile of SCOBYs in a massive SCOBY hotel just waiting . . . It feels somehow wrong to throw them away when you have taken care of them and watched them grow! Did you know you can eat your SCOBYs and they're actually good for you?
Special bacteria and yeasts which reside in the SCOBY and kombucha liquid are the same ones that give kombucha its probiotics and health benefits. It is thought that the SCOBY is the more concentrated source of the probiotic bacteria and it has a lot of insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber helps by moving debris and excess food through the bowels. Thus, it helps maintain a healthy gut and can help in avoiding diseases such as diverticulitis and IBS.
Kombucha is packed with glucosamine which helps prevent joint damage by supporting the preservation of collagen. It does this by increasing hyaluronic acid which is important for the lubrication of your joints. When joints are better able to move, the collagen isn’t worn down as much. Kombucha is a very healing drink for many different parts of the body. There are a lot of good reasons to eat the SCOBY culture. They are made of cellulose (long strands of linked glucose) which is insoluble fiber.
Here are some of the benefits of eating Kombucha SCOBYs:
- Contains no or low calories
- Absorbs water, making it easier to pass stools
- Aids in waste removal, including metabolic waste normally excreted in bile
- Has lots of insoluble fiber which is severely lacking in most Western diets
- Lowers cholesterol levels by absorbing excess cholesterol from the bloodstream
- Slows the absorption of sugar and helps normalize blood sugar levels
Pretty impressive, right? One of the things I love about using SCOBYs is how they add a gelatin-like consistency to many recipes and very little taste. My daughter Maci has come up with many of these recipes and I had to be coaxed to try some of them. She came to visit me, made all of her new recipes for me in one day. I loved them and was super impressed. I absolutely love making the SCOBY slushies and it reminds me of the many Slurpees I used to consume as a kid, but way, way better for you! Now, you don't have to eat them. You can use them in other ways, too, and here I have a multitude of ways to use those extra SCOBYs!
First — Make a SCOBY Purée!!
Eating a SCOBY by itself is not an easy thing. They're tough and almost impossible to eat by themselves so blending them in a blender is a must. Many of these recipes involve first making a SCOBY Purée. It makes your SCOBY the consistency needed for the recipes, plus you can make a lot and store it for when you need it! See how to make it below.
Ways To Use Your SCOBY
Make a SCOBY Purée
Many of these recipes involve first making a SCOBY Purée.
This Purée is great to have on hand. It makes your SCOBY the consistency needed for the recipes, plus you can make a lot and store it for when you need it!
Get the recipe:
Raw SCOBY Cookie Dough
Don't be scared by this recipe. This cookie dough is probiotic, raw, and can easily be made vegan! You and your family will love this cookie dough. You can add other add-ins like different nuts and even dried cranberries or blueberries. Nobody will even know SCOBYs are in there. Shhhh! Don't tell them!
(This recipe is NOT for baking!!!)
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SCOBY Applesauce
Maci was eating some homemade applesauce one day and thought . . . I could put a SCOBY in this. So she did! It's tart, it's tangy, and it's raw! You can't tell whatsoever that you're getting a bunch of insoluble fiber in your applesauce. And remember, apples are prebiotics so you're getting pro- and prebiotics to change your gut in a spectacular way!
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Sweet 'n' Sour SCOBY Sorbet
You will fool even yourself with this one! Combine one of your extra SCOBYs with lots of ice and you have a cool summer treat. It's a unique flavor and texture mixed with fruit and herbs. You'll want to use all your SCOBYs to make sorbets.
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SCOBY Dog Treats
This was the second thing I ever used Kombucha SCOBYs for. You dehydrate the SCOBYs and make them into yummy dog treats. My pups loved them!
Probiotic treats for your dogs! They’re easy to make and they contain tons of nutrients.
Check out this blog to learn how to use your extra SCOBYs to make dog treats!
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Make a New Kombucha Flavor
It's always nice to have extra SCOBYs (and starter tea) to experiment with. Coffee Kombucha is super bubbly, unique, and delicious. Did you know that coffee is a prebiotic? Researchers did studies on microbes and found that microbes love the microscopic fibers in coffee. As these microbes grow, they cover the intestinal walls and keep harmful pathogens from colonizing.
You can find more info about coffee and kombucha in this fun coffee recipe here:
SCOBY Hotel
This is a great way to store extra SCOBYs in case you need a new one or your friends finally come around! Just set them in some kombucha tea in a jar on your counter. It is best to not store your SCOBYs in the refrigerator - room temperature works the best!
Get the recipe:
SCOBY Slushie
After it sits, kombucha can become somewhat gelatinous which may indicate the presence of the building blocks responsible for the formation of the mucopolysaccharides of the polysaccharide colony from the kombucha solution. This gelatinous material is what we call a SCOBY. The material that forms the SCOBY seems similar to a type of collagen in our body. Eating and consuming SCOBYs is actually really good for you and this refreshing, tangy, and easy slushy is a fun way to use your SCOBYs!
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SCOBY Date Balls
Dates are healthy treats. Mix together a SCOBY and a few other ingredients and you have not only a tasty treat but a probiotic one, too! These are another one of my daughter Maci's favorite creations. You might find them as addictive as she does.
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SCOBY Pie Crust
This is the very first weird experiment my daughter Maci ever made with a SCOBY. I thought she had lost her mind until I tried it. You'll be surprised how good this is and nobody will ever know it's made with SCOBYs. Maci loves this pie crust and uses it often.
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SCOBY Fruity Popsicles
A little fruit, SCOBY, and kombucha and you have a unique treat. Your kids won't even know what you're hiding!
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SCOBY Energy Balls
These are a wonderful combination of prebiotics and probiotics. You can use tart dried cherries or dried blueberries - or both! It only takes a few minutes to mix them together for a fast treat!
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SCOBY Smoothie
Smoothies are one of the best fast foods around. We love and make smoothies on a regular basis. SCOBYs have all kinds of wonderful properties and they'll make your smoothies extra thick and creamy. SCOBYs don't have much of a flavor so you can add them to just about any smoothie without changing the taste. This recipe is adaptable, easy, and a great use of extra SCOBYs.
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Brown Sugar SCOBY Scrub
This oatmeal scrub will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth! Make sure to scrub for a nice long time :) A woman attending one of my classes told me that she had a cancerous mole removed from her face. A short time later, she found another one on her other cheek. She started applying kombucha tea to her face and it vanished. I saw her face and there wasn't a trace of anything. Kombucha is a good toner for your skin and SCOBYs make a great mask.
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SCOBY Garlic Dressing
This one is loaded with fermented garlic and SCOBYs. This dressing is a powerful detoxer and a delight to the tastebuds!
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More inventive things that you can do with SCOBYs
If you have brave friends or family members, ask them if they'd like a SCOBY! But never try to convince someone to make these cultured foods. I learned that the hard way. They will come around to it when they are ready and chances are, you'll have lots of extra SCOBYs to share with them.
Garden SCOBYs
This was what I did with ALL of my extra SCOBYs in the beginning, when my friends wouldn't take any! At first, I wouldn't even chop them up. I just threw them in my garden. Until my husband saw them out there and thought aliens had come to attack us! Now I blend them up and put them under the soil of the plants. One year, my neighbor and I both planted tomatoes on the same day right across from each other. My tomatoes kept growing for about a month after his, and the plants were twice the size and he didn't know why! I credit the SCOBYs . . .
Feed a Chicken or a Goat
I love seeing this picture, from my farming friends, of different animals eating SCOBYs raw! Kelly Rae Hodges, The Fancy Farm Girl, says her goats adore eating her extra SCOBYs!
I have a good friend, Nancy, whose chickens fight over all her SCOBYs.
Make Art!
We've seen some pretty cool things made from SCOBYs: jewelry, crafts, drumheads and more! Check out Sacha Laurin in "This Artisan's Fermented Life" who makes jewelry from dried kombucha cultures.
Clothes?!
Suzanne Lee shares her experiments in growing a kombucha-based material that can be used like fabric or vegetable leather to make clothing. And then there were some fashion school kids who grew SCOBYs in tubs and dried them to make clothes . . . but the problem is when SCOBYs get wet they rehydrate and, well, if it ever rained you'd be naked . . .
I hope you find this helpful and enjoyable, too!
Listen To My Podcast
You all keep asking . . . What do I do with all these SCOBYs?! If you are anything like me, you have a pile of SCOBYs in a massive SCOBY hotel just waiting. It feels somehow wrong to throw them away when you have taken care of them and watched them grow! Did you know you can eat your SCOBYs and that they're actually good for you and have health benefits? Check out all my recipes and ideas on what to do with all your scobys.
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